photo by Lynda Koolish

THERE IS NO FUTURE

IN IGNORANCE

which is more important: life or what we can create with technology?

that’s a trick question. ultimately, there is no binary dualism of technology opposed to life—technology is nothing but the how of human interaction with our material and social environment.

we should not let the specter of failure or wrong-doing discourage us, nor should the obvious environmental destruction wrought by western society be accepted as justification not to use technology.

do not be afraid to confront and change the world. to be human means to change the world.

as long as we use technology to facilitate the representation of our humanity and the preservation of our environment, rather than to repress our humanity or to despoil our environment, we have nothing to fear. regardless of the technology, yesterday, today and tomorrow, our problem is with the makers and users of technology and not with technology itself.

yes, there is some cachet to the notion that humans are too weak, too shortsighted, too corrupt to handle higher technology. however, regardless of human inability to wisely use technological developments, we are at a serious disadvantage in improving our lives if we do not embrace the use of technology.

during the 20th century from the fifties to the seventies, political struggle was the worldwide trend. back then it was pick up the gun—arm yourself or harm yourself. at the beginning of the 21st century, the revolution is technological. today it is pick up the computer and go online—arm yourself with knowledge or harm yourself with ignorance.

i would much rather have technology and decide how best to use it, than avoid technology because i am fearful of its misuse. moreover, as history demonstrates time and time again, what you don’t control will be used against you. while i accept the limitations of humanity, i do not accept ignorance.

today’s liberation struggle must be a global struggle to acquire and disseminate information and resources across and within national boundaries. nationalism and racial essentialism are not the answer. we must globalize our struggle. every nation state we people of african descent inhabit is a nation state that was created and either politically or economically controlled and/or exploited by non-africans. moreover, regardless of our emotional identities, all of we people of the african diaspora are mixed. we are mixed biologically but also culturally, especially with regard to language, and we are mixed in terms of our consciousness, especially how we actually identify with africa in word and deed.

indeed, if the definition of our blackness embraces all of us, that definition must be one of great inclusiveness rather than one of exclusivity or racial purity. in the final analysis our blackness is more cultural than racial, and certainly more a case of conscious identification rather than simply the result of the accident of birth.

moreover, while we affirm that our growth and development is contingent on organizing around our own broadly defined self interests, at the same time we understand that to do this we must be able to communicate our realities and aspirations to each other and to the world.

there is a phrase: technicians of the sacred. technicians of the sacred refers to those of us who are proficient at articulating social and individual reality, a reality of the here and now, but also a reality composed of the been here and gone, as well as the hoped for soon come. additionally, and of irreducible importance, our reality also includes our interrelations with the planet: the sea, the soil, the atmosphere and everything therein, thereon and there over.

one key to our future is building community, is reaching out to each other, sharing resources and dreams, telling each other about both our hard times and our joys. another key is realizing that what we create is not simply for ourselves alone, but is also a gift to the world. we must be prepared to become citizens of the world and not restrict our self definition to national or racial specifics.

there has been a massive democratization of technology. computers and software enable us to produce our words, our music, our art on a par with multinational corporations. through access to the internet we can obtain information and data previously beyond our grasp, and we can communicate with each other almost instantly regardless of where we are. all that is required is a willingness to engage reality, a willingness to acquire and use technology.

some may feel i am preaching to the choir. my response is “yes” and “no.” yes, most of you have computers and email, but even so, we all need encouragement and inspiration to continue forward. “no” in the sense that few of us are using the technology we have to organize and to produce at exponentially higher levels. i am arguing that technology is not just a convenience or a way to advance our careers. technology can also be a tool of struggle. we need to be techno-warriors.

what are you looking at, what are you listening to? right now. this is not kalamu ya salaam. you do not see me. you do not hear me. you see an image, you hear vibrations presented in such a way they lead you to believe you are having a human interaction. most of us are acculturated to respond to technology—to be consumers. but how many of us are ready to respond to technology as producers? to consume and not produce is to be a slave to capitalism.

come, let us leave the plantation of mindless consumption. yes, we can make music and movies, books and artwork, but we can also organize and mobilize, heal and develop, we can lift ourselves using the lever of technology—or should i say the elevator, the mothership, the computer chip, the laser light of technology.

right now i am somewhere in the world different from where you are. we need to link up. i want to know you, feel you. i want you to know me, feel me. we need to know we. we need to feel we. the wise use of technology can bring us together.

engage the world with any and all resources available to you. there is no future in ignorance. as a technician of the sacred, learn what you don’t know, teach what you do. may the future be black!

—kalamu ya salaam